JP2934518B2 - Video camera controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for a video camera used as a video device for photographing a subject for monitoring, observation or viewing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An operation of photographing an object, a scene, or the like by a video camera, displaying the image on a monitor (television), and adjusting the screen to a desired position or size, that is, zooming (enlarging or reducing), focusing The operation to obtain the required screen such as (focus), iris (exposure), pan / tilt (movement), etc. is performed not only manually but also electrically, and in this case, an electric operation is performed through a driving device. The camera is working.

A conventional electric operation of this kind will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera, a main body 1a containing a driving device, and a lens operated by the driving device.
1b and the like. Reference numeral 3 denotes a turntable on which a separate drive device is built and the camera 1 is mounted. Reference numeral 4 denotes a monitor (television) that is connected to the camera 1 by wiring and displays the image captured by the camera 1. 5 is camera 1 and swivel
3 is a camera controller that sends instructions necessary for screen adjustment by electrical (opening / closing) signals to them, and includes a zoom operation button 5a, a focus operation button 5b, an iris operation button 5c, a pan / tilt An operation button 5d and the like are attached. Of these operations, focus and iris can be automated by conventional techniques, but zooming, panning and tilting are difficult to automate.

According to the configuration shown in FIG. 5, an image from a subject captured through the lens 1b is converted into an electric signal in the main body 1a of the camera 1, sent to the monitor 4, and then converted again to the monitor 4. Is displayed as an image. The photographer looks at the image on the monitor 4 and operates the zoom operation button 5a, the focus operation button 5b, the iris operation button 5c,
While operating the tilt operation button 5d and the like, adjustment is made so that a desired screen is obtained. In response to an instruction from the camera operating device 5, the camera 1 and the swivel base 3 are each operated by a built-in drive device, and a new screen is displayed on the monitor 4. The photographer repeats a desired operation according to the situation, such as changing the screen again, while watching the screen.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional electric operating means has the following problems.

(1) While operating to obtain a required screen, constantly changing images are constantly checked,
Judgment and fine adjustment based on the judgment are necessary.
In addition, since the photographer is always nervous during the operation, early replacement of personnel is required depending on the situation.

(2) When operating the camera and the swivel base, it is difficult to immediately combine the respective operations to obtain a target screen, and a high degree of skill is required for prompt and smooth image processing. did. Furthermore, the position of the image, the reduction ratio, and the like cannot be accurately set in advance, and the photographer must rely on the intuition of the photographer.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to eliminate the above problems, and has the following structure. That is, the amount of light received and the distance between the video camera and the subject are measured by a sensor built into the video camera, an image from the subject is projected on a monitor screen connected to the video camera by wiring, and the video camera and the monitor are connected by wiring. The measured light reception amount and the distance are displayed on a monitor screen through a computer that performs the input by a keyboard or an input of the mouse, which is an input device of the computer, and inputs an instruction signal by the computer to adjust the aperture and focus of the television camera. While adjusting, move the cursor on the monitor screen via the input device, specify a frame in the screen, specify and input an arbitrary enlargement, reduction ratio or moving distance, and input the image size,
It is characterized in that the position is changed.

[0009]

The operation will be described based on the above configuration.

When the camera shoots an object while all of the video camera, the swivel, the monitor, and the computer are turned on, an image in the camera is converted into an electric signal, sent to the monitor, and displayed as an image. At this time, the amount of light and the distance to the subject are measured by a sensor built in the camera, and image adjustment is performed automatically or manually while watching a monitor screen. If the state of the image needs to be further changed, the photographer operates the keyboard or mouse as an input device of the computer, and after the computer receives the instruction, performs calculations, and then performs iris, focus, zoom, pan / tilt. Is transmitted to each drive device to control the camera and the swivel.

[0011]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a video camera control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a camera (1a is a main body, 1b
Is a lens), 3 is a swivel table, and 4 is a monitor 4, which are the same as those in FIG. 4 described in the section of the prior art. Reference numeral 2 denotes a well-known sensor for measuring the amount of light and measuring the distance between the camera 1 and a subject. During automatic operation, an iris (aperture) and a focus (focusing) mechanism are automatically operated to obtain a clear image. To produce Reference numeral 6 denotes a computer which is connected to the camera 1, the swivel 3 and the monitor 4 by wiring. The computer 6 receives information from the sensor 3 and an instruction from an input device (keyboard 7, mouse 8). The distance, magnification, direction, etc. are calculated, and the camera 1 and the swivel 3 are connected via a camera controller (not shown).
Give instructions.

The procedure will be described with reference to FIG. When the power of all the above-mentioned devices is turned on (power is turned on) and the camera 1 is pointed at the subject, the image captured by the camera 1 is converted into an electric signal, and at the same time, the sensor 3 built in the camera 1 detects the light amount. Measure and measure the distance between subjects. When camera 1 is set for automatic operation, the iris, focus, and other mechanisms are automatically activated according to the situation, but for manual operation, manual operation is performed while looking at the monitor screen. Is also possible. In this regard, the same applies to commercially available cameras.

The electric signal obtained by the camera 1 is sent to a monitor 4 to be displayed as an image, and the received light amount and the distance to the subject are displayed through a computer 6.

When the photographer needs to change the state of the image while looking at the image, the photographer operates the input device to the computer 6, ie, the keyboard 7 or the mouse 8 to give an instruction. Instructions given by the photographer are input devices (keyboard 7,
After being input to the computer 6 via the mouse 8) and calculated, the signals become iris, focus, zoom (continuous enlargement / reduction), pan (horizontal movement), and tilt (vertical movement) instruction signals. It is transmitted to each drive. Among them, the iris, focus, and zoom control the camera 1 via a drive unit built in the camera 1, and pan and tilt control the turntable 3 via a drive unit built in the turntable 3, respectively. At this time, the input devices such as the keyboard 7 and the mouse 8
The menu can be selected by any of the above methods.However, the keyboard 7 can be used for observation and verification because the enlargement, reduction ratio, turning angle, and the like can be designated with extremely specific numbers. Is simply moved on a plane, and while viewing the screen of monitor 4,
Since reduction or turning can be performed, it is most suitable for photographing when a quick operation is required or when the user is unfamiliar with the operation. Naturally, good image processing can be performed using both of them. Note that the monitor 4 can project video from the camera 1 and also can project information from the computer 6. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the camera control system of the video camera control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, the computer 6 moves the camera 1 and the swivel base 3 to an initial position according to a program stored in advance at the time of initial startup. Further, the computer 6 confirms that the motors of the camera 1 and the turntable 3 have moved to the initial positions by the feedback signal.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 of the computer 6 stores the current positions of the motors 11 to 13, 31, and 32 in a memory.
The current position of the mouse 8 is also stored in the memory after being changed to an initial value (eg, upper left corner).

The sensor 2 periodically transmits a signal to the subject, stores the time of the transmission, and
A reflection signal from a subject is received, and the time of reception is stored in a memory. Further, the difference between the stored transmission time and reception time is calculated, and the calculated time information is sent to the arithmetic and control unit 61 of the computer 6.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 calculates the distance from the time information received from the sensor 2 by arithmetic processing according to a program stored in advance, and sends the distance data to the focus processing unit 63.

The focus processing unit 63 converts the distance data received from the arithmetic and control unit 61 into a motor drive control signal, controls the drive of the focus drive motor 12 according to the control signal, and controls the lens 1b of the camera 1 To a position where a good image can be obtained.

The sensor 2 has a function of receiving the brightness of the object, receives light reflected from the object by illumination or natural light, and receives light amount data (eg, 2) according to the amount of light received.
56) and sends it to the arithmetic and control unit 61.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 compares the light amount data received from the sensor 2 with the preset light amount data to generate brightness adjustment data and sends it to the iris processing unit 64.

The iris processing unit 64 converts the adjustment data received from the arithmetic and control unit 61 into a control signal for driving the motor, and controls the drive of the iris drive motor 13 according to the control signal.
Adjust the aperture of the lens 1b.

The mouse 8 has a switch for turning on / off a cursor, a switch for setting / resetting the cursor position, and a detection mechanism for detecting the amount and direction of movement of the mouse body on the bottom surface. These operation data are sent to the arithmetic and control unit 61. Specifically, the following mouse operation is performed. After the completion of the initial setting of each unit, the image of the subject captured by the lens 1b of the camera 1 is converted into an image signal by the imaging unit of the camera 1,
Sent to monitor 4.

The monitor 4 displays an image according to the image signal received from the image pickup unit of the camera 1. Further, a cursor (cursor pattern) according to the cursor signal received from the arithmetic and control unit 61 is combined with the image image and displayed.

At this time, the cursor displayed on the monitor 4 is used by the arithmetic and control unit 61 to convert the position information of the mouse 8 into two-dimensional data (x, y), and to show the correlation with the coordinate position from the initial value. The corresponding position data is calculated and sent to the monitor 4 as a cursor signal to be displayed. The operator moves the cursor via the mouse 8 to the upper left corner of the range to be enlarged or reduced from the image displayed on the monitor 4. When the position is determined and the cursor reset switch is pressed, the mouse 8 sends a cursor reset signal to the arithmetic and control unit 61.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 converts the cursor reset signal received from the mouse 8 into the current cursor position data, stores the position in the memory as rectangular upper left vertex data, and displays the image of the upper left vertex on the monitor 4. Transmit as a signal. The monitor 4 combines the input image signal with the image from the camera 1 as a rectangular upper left vertex and displays it.

Further, when the operator moves the mouse 8 to the lower right corner of the rectangle in the same range, the detection mechanism on the bottom of the mouse sends information on the amount and direction of movement to the arithmetic and control unit 61 every moment.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 generates a rectangular contour image signal having a rectangular lower right vertex as a diagonal line from a rectangular upper left vertex according to a program stored in advance, and sends it to the monitor 4. The monitor 4 combines the rectangular contour image signal input from the arithmetic and control unit 61 with the image captured by the camera 1 and displays it.

When the operator completes moving the mouse 8 to the lower right corner of the rectangle in the same range and presses the cursor position set / reset switch of the mouse 8, the signal is sent to the arithmetic and control unit 61.

In response to the switch signal input from the mouse 8, the arithmetic and control unit 61 stores the information on the position of the lower right corner of the rectangle in the memory, stops the image signal of the rectangular contour line, and stops the right corner of the square from the upper left corner of the rectangle. The area and the center position are calculated as the current image rectangular area having the lower vertex as a diagonal line.

Further, the operator performs the following operation in order to determine at which position on the monitor 4 and in what size the current image rectangular area is displayed. That is, monitor with mouse 8
4 Move the cursor to the upper position you want to display. At this time, the arithmetic and control unit 61 inputs the information on the amount of movement and the direction of movement from the mouse 8 in the same manner as described above, generates a cursor image signal, and sends it to the monitor 4 together with the current image rectangular contour image signal. Thus, the monitor 4 displays the cursor and the rectangular outline image according to the cursor image signal and the current rectangular outline image signal.

Thereafter, when the operator moves the cursor to the upper left corner of the rectangle at the position to be moved and displayed and presses the cursor position set / reset switch, the signal is sent to the arithmetic and control unit 61.

In accordance with the switch signal input from the mouse 8, the arithmetic and control unit 61 stores the information on the upper left vertex position of the rectangle in the memory as the upper left vertex data of the destination rectangle and sends the data to the monitor 4. . monitor
4 combines and displays a rectangular contour image according to information (upper left vertex data) input from the arithmetic and control unit 61 with an image captured by the camera 1.

Further, when the operator moves the cursor to the lower right vertex of the rectangle within the range to be designated and presses the cursor position set / reset switch, the signal is sent to the arithmetic and control unit.
Sent to 61.

The arithmetic and control unit 61 stores the information on the position of the lower right corner of the rectangle input from the mouse 8 in the memory, stops the generation of the rectangular contour image signal, and shifts the lower right vertex of the rectangle from the upper left corner of the rectangle to the diagonal line. The area and the center position are calculated as the scaled image square area. Further, the arithmetic and control unit 61 executes the following processing according to a program stored in advance.

First, the arithmetic and control unit 61 calculates the amount of movement from the center position of the current image rectangular plane to the center position of the enlarged / reduced image rectangular plane using coordinate components (x, y). It generates pan drive motor control data for the swivel 3 and sends the data to the pan processing unit 65, and generates tilt drive motor control data from the y-direction component and sends the data to the tilt processing unit 66. I do.

The pan processing unit 65 converts the pan driving motor control data input from the arithmetic and control unit 61 into a control signal for driving the motor, and controls the driving of the pan driving motor 31 according to the control signal. Converts the tilt drive motor control data into a motor drive control signal and drives and controls the tilt drive motor 32 according to the control signal. Further, the arithmetic and control unit 61 calculates an area ratio between the current image rectangular area and the enlarged / reduced image rectangular area, and transmits the ratio to the zoom processing unit 62 as reduced data. The zoom processing unit 62 converts the scaled-down data input from the arithmetic and control unit 61 into a motor drive control signal, and controls the drive of the zoom drive motor 62 according to the control signal.

With the above operation and processing means, a mouse
8, the direction of the camera 1, the zoom, and the like can be arbitrarily controlled for an arbitrary portion of the image displayed on the monitor 4. Next, an example of image processing using the mouse 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When an image (shown by と and □ in the figure) is displayed on the monitor 4, the mouse 8 is moved in the horizontal direction, and the cursor (←) is moved to the upper left (point a) of the specified range on the monitor screen.
Then, press the button of mouse 8 (click ON).

Then, the cursor is moved in the same manner as described above, and the cursor is moved in the lower right direction (point b) of the point a to determine a designated range (a frame surrounded by a broken line is displayed). Press the button.

Next, the cursor is moved to the upper left (point A) of the newly drawn image, and the button of the mouse 8 is pressed.
After moving the cursor to the lower right direction of the point (point B), the designated range of a new image (a new frame surrounded by a broken line is displayed) is determined in the same manner as described above, and the button of the mouse 8 is pressed. By doing so, a square screen with points a and b as diagonal lines,
The screen is switched to a new square screen which is similar and has the point A and the point B as diagonal lines.

[0043]

According to the above configuration, the present invention has the following effects.

(1) Knowledge of a camera or the like and skillful photographing techniques are not particularly required, and a desired screen can be obtained quickly by a simple operation. This eliminates the need for the photographer to work in a nervous state for a long time, and therefore does not particularly require a change of personnel.

(2) When operating the camera and the swivel base, a plurality of operations such as zoom, focus, iris, and pan / tilt can be freely combined, and there is no need to adjust or correct an image. An accurate and powerful screen that cannot be obtained by manual operation can be obtained. In particular, the position of the image on the monitor screen, the name of the reduction ratio, and the like can be accurately set in advance using numerical values, and can be used for various academic researches.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a video camera control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a video camera control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a process diagram of image processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of image processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional video camera control mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... video camera, 1a ... body, 1b ... lens, 2 ... sensor, 3 ... swivel, 4 ... monitor, 4a ... image, 5 ... camera controller, 6 ... computer, 7 ... input device (keyboard), 8 ... Input device (mouse).

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Eiichi Masai 3-6-1, Shiomidaicho, Suma-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo (72) Inventor Yuujiro Kamada 1-1-1, Wadazakicho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Inside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Shipyard (72) Inventor Akinori Takahashi 5-1-1, Komatsu-dori, Hyogo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture Inside Shinryo High-Tech Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-196774 (JP, A JP-A-53-113418 (JP, A) JP-A-3-90569 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04N 5/232 H04N 5/225 H04N 7 / 18

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A video camera having a built-in sensor for measuring an amount of received light and a distance between a subject and a monitor for displaying an image taken by the video camera, and displaying the measured amount of received light and the distance on the monitor. Display control means, drive control means for adjusting the aperture and focus of the video camera, input means for moving and controlling a cursor on the screen of the monitor to designate a frame in the screen, and arbitrary enlargement of the image in the frame A video camera control device comprising: input means for specifying a reduction ratio; and image processing means for changing the size and position of the image in the frame in accordance with the specification of the input means.